- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,195,409
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
The Livonia Churchill baseball team had a stellar regular season in 2025, winning 25 games and going 11-1 in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association-East.
But come tournament time — both for the league championship and a Division 1 district title — their runs ended in their first games. They lost to Howell 2-1 in the conference semifinal and then fell to Salem 7-5 in the district semifinal.
Losing early in both tournaments with such a talented roster was a motivator this offseason. They got back to work, and for most returning seniors, took the game more seriously than ever.
“The kids are responding,” seventh-year coach Lawrence Scheffer told Hometown Life on March 16.
You must be registered for see images attach
They certainly have been.
Aside from fall ball and four-person workouts, their commitment in the weight room has never been higher, with most Chargers lifting at least three days a week. And they plan to continue through the spring, unlike last season when several players skipped lifting to focus solely on playing 3-5 games per week.
“I’d say the main thing for me is putting on size and weight and keeping it,” said 6-foot-3, 207-pound senior Lucas Brown, a four-year varsity player and a Case Western Reserve commit. “Last year, at the end of the year, I lost a lot of weight, so I was maybe 185-190 pounds. I’m sitting at almost 210 right now, and I plan to keep it that way. Last year, I didn’t work out in-season, and that’s something I’m focusing on now.”
More: Livonia Public Schools leaving KLAA for Lakes Valley Conference
Brown isn’t the only one. From Aquinas College commit Jake Surgeon to shortstop Roman Bass and pitcher Jaylen Johnson, the Chargers have worked to get bigger, stronger and faster with hopes of finishing the job as seniors.
Perhaps no one has worked harder this offseason than Bridger Olnhausen, who transferred from Victor, Idaho, where he attended a high school about one-fourth the size of Churchill and was battle-tested as a junior.
You must be registered for see images attach
On the mound, the right-hander, a Lansing Community College commit, went 6-2 with a 1.08 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 45 innings.
After competing at a school with about 300 students, he joined a league coming off back-to-back state championships by Novi and Northville and was expected to be an important part of the Chargers’ bullpen.
“I did it, but it was definitely nerve-wracking,” Olnhausen said. “I learned I had a bunch to work on compared to the other guys on our team, and I had to mature up a little bit, for sure, and focus up.”
Meeting those challenges got harder when he developed a blood clot between his first rib and clavicle last July, requiring blood thinners and extensive rehabilitation. He lost about 20 pounds. By the time he returned to full strength, he had plenty to make up for, along with the refinement he wanted to become a better starter in the KLAA.
Now nearly 6-5 and 205 pounds, he has added 10 pounds of muscle on top of the 20 he had to regain after his health scare. His fastball reaches 90 mph, his slider sits at 82, and his changeup and curveball are also tough to hit.
“I just want to keep growing and preparing for the college level, for sure,” Olnhausen said. “They like how I’m tall, lengthy and can build me. I don’t have it all put together yet, but they think I can definitely come in and help get me better.”
You must be registered for see images attach
He should make Churchill’s starting rotation a strength this season, and the Chargers have several others back who should make them a league title contender in their final season in the KLAA before joining the Lakes Valley Conference in the fall.
Other key veterans back include Dominic Klosowski, an outfielder who has also taken the offseason seriously, and Nate Baron, a junior who caught 30 games last season and has developed a strong relationship with Churchill’s pitching staff.
“Our guys are motivated,” Scheffer said. “We’ve got a lot of guys coming back with experience, especially our pitching staff. But we’ve still got some parts and different pieces we need to put together to make things work for us, and that’s what we’ve really been working on in the offseason and fall.”
That attention to detail, along with the Chargers’ commitment in the weight room, is what they hope gets them over the hump and brings home league and district championships this spring.
You must be registered for see images
Losing early last season was no fun, and these seniors don’t want to go out that way again, especially with such a competitive roster returning.
“It was definitely a tough loss for us,” Brown said. “Last season, we had great team morale and were expecting to go far. Now, this season, we know we’ve just got to come back bigger and stronger.”
Brandon Folsom covers high school sports in metro Detroit for Hometown Life. Follow him on his new X.com account at @folsomwrites.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Weight room commitment should give Livonia Churchill baseball an edge
Continue reading...
